Table of Contents

Recognizing an E-Mail Phishing Scam

If you open an email and see a message that reads something like this:

"Congratulations! You've just won $47 million! To claim your prize please click on the link below."

I suggest you don't click the link. The senders are phishing for your information so they can use it to commit fraud.

Source

What is Phishing?

I can hear the older generation now. "Back in my day, fishing meant a rod, a reel, and a lure." To them, I say welcome to the internet and the 21st century.

E-Mail phishing is a method used by criminals to obtain sensitive, personal information from their victims. Information they might request could be anything from personal passwords, banking account information, or identification information. The word is a neologism of the internet, created as a homophone of fishing, due to the similarity of using the scam to bait potential victims.

The phishing puns continue as the scams are further categorized. "Spear Phishing" refers to e-mail scams that gather personal information to obtain access to the victim's records. "Clone Phishing" is when a scammer sends a cloned or duplicate e-mail that resembles a reputable business or agency that the victim is affiliated with. The cloned e-mail will include a link that the victim must click, usually "immediately", in order to verify information or prevent some financial disaster from happening. Finally, "whaling" refers to fraudulent e-mails that are directed to high-ranking CEOs or senior executives at a business. The e-mail looks extremely official, usually masquerades as another well-known company, and calls for action on the businessman's behalf, otherwise legal repercussions may occur.

"419" E-Mail Phishing Scams

A "419 Phishing Scam" refers to criminal parties working out of Nigeria or West Africa. The number 419 is named after an article of the Nigerian penal code under which such fraud is prosecuted.

Typically, 419 scams are methods used to obtain large sums of money from the victims. The scam might come in the form of a request for money upfront, with the promise of a larger sum of money soon to come in the near future. Scenarios range from victims being told they just won the Lottery to requests for immediate help due to a family emergency. Sometimes Nigerian princes want to share their billions with you. Other times, someone deceased has nominated you as the beneficiary for their inheritance money.

In most cases, the e-mail requests specific banking information so the funs can be transferred. Oftentimes, the money wire happens through Western Union, MoneyGram, or fraudulent cashier's checks. This type of fraud is called the "Advance Fee Fraud". It calls for immediate action on the victim's behalf with the promise of some later reward. Don't fall for these scams! Remember, it doesn't take a several thousand dollar downpayment to open up a checking account.

Have you ever been the victim of e-mail phishing scams or fraud?

Types of E-Mail Phishing Scams

There are many types of e-mail scams on the internet these days. Some are obvious, while others are harder to spot. Scammers love to pull on heartstrings, reference sensitive topics, or cause panic from immediate financial threat. Regardless of the story or scenario, think critically about what is being asked of you. Remember, it's not wise to share personal information via e-mail or telephone. No legitimate company will ask for personal information by such means, so don't provide it!

Types of E-Mail Phishing Scams

Description

Fake Lottery Winner Scam

You've won a prize, but must pay an initial fee.

Company Representative Scam

The company needs your help and bank account for cashing customer checks. You'll receive a 10% commission for your help.

Dead Foreigner Scam

A rich foreigner has died without an heir. If you claim relation, you'll get part of the inheritance.

Dying Widow Scam

A rich, dying widow has no heirs and wants to give her money to you after she passes.

Loan Scam

A rich foreigner wants to loan you money at a good interest rate, but first you need to make a deposit in their bank account.

ATM Card Scam

There is a bank account waiting for you to withdraw millions of dollars. First, you must provide your banking information.

Job Scam

You've just been hired to work at a high paying, foreign job. Before you can start, you need to send money for immigration papers to a lawyer.

Fake Charity Scam

A charity or ministry is in dire need of your help. Send money fast.

Immigration Help Scam

A person wanting to immigrate to your country needs your help. Maybe they want to marry you and need your information for documentation. Maybe they need money for travel.

Chain Letter Scam

If you choose to participate, your bank account will soon be filled with money. Share with friends and family.

Subpoena Scam

You have been summoned to court. Click the following link to confirm your identification.

The list goes on and on. You get the idea. Some scams are clever, while others are obvious. In all cases, the person needs your help, your money, or your information to complete the process. I suggest you don't give it to them.

Source

How to Report E-Mail Phishing Scams

If you find that you are a victim of e-mail phishing scams, there are several steps you can take to report the criminal party.

One way to report e-mail scams is by sending an e-mail or letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC compiles complaints about companies, business practices, and identity theft. You can contact them here.

Another way to report e-mail scams is to forward the phishing emails to spam@uce.gov — and to the company, bank, or organization impersonated in the email. Your report is most effective when you include the full email header, but many email programs hide this information.

If you've found that you've already been duped by an e-mail phishing scam, you can contact https://www.identitytheft.gov/. The process will help you report identity theft or information breach that has already occurred.

Hopefully you haven't fallen victim to such scams. If you have, there are methods of reporting and sharing the information with anti-phishing agencies to help them prevent such attacks from occurring again in the future.

E-Mail Phishing Scam Example

What follows is an interaction I recently had with an e-mail scammer. The scammer has taken on the alias of Alice Pena, a bank accountant from the U.K. who wants to share $14.5 million with me. The money has been sitting in a dead man's bank account for almost ten years. The scammer wants me to claim relationship to this man and obtain the inheritance money so that she can travel to the United States to invest in small businesses across the country. Enjoy.

First E-Mail From Alice Pena

Hello My Dear

How are you doing today? i will like to be sincere and honest with you, i am a woman that have seen life, although is not proud, what matters in our life is your contribution to humanity

Dear, i believe that is the most important thing in life, I had been hardworking all my life, i must think of something better, to enjoy my life and probably have a family maybe relocate and start investing in other things, Anyway i will like to tell you more about me, My name is Miss Alicepena am from Belgium, i was born in Finland, And i left Finland at Age of 8 Years to Uk, which to the glory of God Am working as an Senior Audit/banker in Al Rayan Bank Plc United Kingdom, although is painful i lost my only son age of 3 years

i was married but my Ex Husband got married to another woman, which caused our divorce, but is ok that is life for you, since he accused me of been so busy due to my bank work activities as accounting/auditing, that i was not having time for him and our kid before she passed away, but he refused to understand that i was pursing a goal, i told him that soon i will resign and we will have enough time for each other but he was impatient, although is over between us, I am happy alone because I have everything i need, This is why I think of relocating to another country to get into investment and maybe own a small company which i can be able to manage on my own, Please would you tell me more about yourself too? I like to know more about you for me to know if we can achieve this goal together, your marital status and your country of origin

I will be glad to hear from you soon

Yours Faithful Alicepena

The First Photo She Sent Me

My Response

Alice,

I am confused as to what it is, exactly, that you are asking me for?

Luke

In Reflection

At first, I thought there was a possibility that her e-mail was sincere. Her story was tragic and I'd never received an e-mail like this one before. I thought that maybe she was just some woman who wanted access into the United States. I thought she was asking me to marry her so that she can come legally to the country.

Source

2nd E-Mail From Alice Pena

MY DEAR,

i must thank you once again for your humble reply to my mail. I really appreciate it so much and i am very happy to read from you, well from your respond i'm convinced that the future has a special place for us, if only we could trust each other and also be honest and faithful to each other as well

Like i told you earlier, i was looking forward to accomplish a particular mission, which my ''ex'' husband was unlucky to achieve with me, I think with the little you have told me about you, it would be very wise to disclose this secret to you and also tell you my aim and plan. Because it would be of mutual benefit to us and maybe you could be the right person to utilize the opportunity with me, because i believe our knowing each other is the way God have destiny it

Remember i told you i am an Auditor of my bank and also the Chief of the International Relation Foreign Remittance Unit. Prior to my position here at my bank, i have the opportunity to loot out some amount of money of a deceased customer, whose autopsy result showed that he died as a result of gun shorts by unknown gunmen. As i was his personal accountant officer, before he died and from the account opening records, he did not indicate anybody as his beneficiary next of kin. Since 2008 to date, nobody has come forward as his beneficiary next of kin to administer the fund. The amount in question is the total sum of $:14.500,000. (Fourteen Million Five Hundred Thousand USD).

I can provide all the required legal papers from the British Court to present you as the legal beneficiary to these funds if you would accept to partner with me in this deal. A lot of abandoned money lay around in this bank as a result of abandoned bank accounts, stock holdings, unclaimed life insurance pay-outs and forgotten pension benefits. I will definitely give you comprehensive details on how we would achieve this legally, without going against the laws of the country. Once you reply to me indicating your interest to work with me. I have worked with the bank for several years and have taken time to study the British inheritance claims procedures. I would appreciate it if you would treat this issue with every bit of confidentiality and maturity, putting my integrity foremost, because i wouldn't need any mistakes or regrets. I assure you that you will never regret it if you would take the bold step to partner with me in this deal. It would be wise if we make every effort not to loose this golden opportunity. This happens in every bank around the world, even in your own country, but people outside the banking industry do not know this.

The fund will be shared at the ratio of 58% for me, 40% for you and 2% will be set aside to cover any expenses and tax in your bank, We will use the fund there in your country to build companies and for investment which both of us would manage, Please this is an honest request for you and i. i only plead for you to make this transaction a top secret because we do not have to trust anybody unless you and i alone

Please i repeat treat this business proposal with utmost confidentiality and send me the following Information(s) for further application for this transfer if you are interested.

A. Your Full Name,

B. Your Home Address

C.Your Identification copy

D.Your Nationality

Thanks and best regards

Yours Faithful Alicepena

The Second Photo She Sent Me

My Response

Hi Alice,

It was very nice to meet you, but I am married and don’t think our arrangement will work out. I wish you the best of luck and hope that you are able to enjoy your $14.5 million in some relaxing and enjoyable way. Have a great weekend!

Luke

In Reflection

Her persistence was intriguing. The fact that she wanted our interaction to be so hush-hush was alarming. If she was truly trying to give me a share of her $14.5 million, it certainly didn't sound legal. The whole thing smelled of an underhanded, shady deal. I decided to start researching her name, story, and request. That's when I learned more about scam e-mails and learned about the 419 Phishing Fraud.

Source

3rd E-Mail From Alice Pena

Hello Dear

How are you feeling today hope all is fine with you?, well here is my phone number +447706646191

NOTE do not call me, you can SMS me, Because Bank set security to monitor every member of the Bank due our banking rule and regulation

Kindly make sure that this information will be between you and me until we actualized the success of this transaction, What i want you to do now is to apply for the release of the fund into your account, Make sure you keep a top secret of this transaction because i don’t want any staff of the bank to know that i am responsible for this transaction, This is where i lay the future survival hope of our future, and its was the reason I tried to explain for your best understanding

You should not change your name and nationality in this transaction because you are going to apply as the business partner to the deceased customer Note, if you send this letter to the bank, the bank will not delay to contact you, but you should not respond back to the bank until i direct you on what to do

This is to avoid mistake from your part , See the official letter below, send it through to the bank through the bank email address of the bank as follows.

Immediately this fund is transferred into your account, then i will obtain visa to your country for the disbursement of the fund according to my proposal ratio, Immediately you apply update me that you have sent the letter to the bank.

I am ............ the business partner to Late Mr Mabrouk Omar, who was assassinated on January 13, 2008 when Gun men shot him while still inside the capital Libya, Tripoli

After his funeral celebration, i discovered that he have an unclaimed and balance account Fourteen Million Five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars. ($14.5 Million) deposited in your bank when he was alive.

I hereby wish to bring to your notice that i am eager to apply for the funds claim as his business partner to enable your bank release and transfer his balance account of ($ 14.5 Million) into my nominated bank account, Upon your urgent response to this effect, I will send you my bank account information for the transfer of the above mentioned sum

So i expect that your bank management will pay an urgent attention to my request and communicate to me further with the related forms and documents necessary to claim this above mentioned sum without delay.

I apologize for late application for this claim as i have been arranging other things left since his sudden death occurred.

Yours sincerely Alicepena

The Third Photo She Sent Me

My Response

Alice,

Thank you for your response. What do you think you’ll do with your share of the money? What businesses would you like to invest in?

Luke

In Reflection

At this point, I was done playing nice. I already told her I wasn't interested, but she continued to try to contact me. I decided that I would have some fun with her, waste her time, and see how long I could keep the charade going.

I realize this isn't the nicest thing to do, but I was bored and was actually having fun fishing for phishers. The crazy thing was that somewhere deep in the back of my mind, I still thought there might be a possibility that she was being sincere. I guess that just shows how deceptive these scams can be.

Source

Last E-Mail from Alice Pena

Hello Dear

How was your day?

Dear, i have heard what you said, like i said earlier i had been working in this bank for some years now, which i know all there banking constitution, all you need to do is to forward the mail to the bank as i directed, then any respond you got from the bank forward it to me to enable me to direct you what next to do before the bank will release the money as our next of kin transaction demand, i hope you understand everything i said, just forward the mail to the bank first

I will stop here, inform me once you forward the mail to the bank today, bye and have a nice day

Yours Faithful Alice

In Reflection

I wasn't willing to actually e-mail the bank she wanted me to contact, so it was unlikely that she would respond to any further e-mails. I decided that I too would be finished with our brief exchange and interaction. All I had to do now was report her to multiple anti-phishing agencies and share her scam with the world.

I know she wanted me to keep this information hush-hush, but I just found it much more appealing to exploit her fraudulent request. Better luck next time, Alice.

Yours Faithful, Luke.

Update: The Real Alice Pena (Natalya Delieva)

After posting this article, a friend of mine began doing some research on "Alice Pena". He found that the scammer also uses the dating website "Plenty of Fish" under the profile located here.

My friend also helped me locate the real person who the scammer is using as bait. You can see her Facebook profile here.

Furthermore, I translated an e-mail from English to Russian and sent it to the real Alice Pena (Natalya Delieva), hoping she could do something about her identity theft. I also contacted the FTC, Al Rayan Bank, spam.uce.gov, and reportphishing@antiphishing.org to notify them of the scam.

This all just goes to show how underhanded people on the internet can be. Be careful what you post, be smart about what you share, and never disclose personal information through e-mail or over the phone.

How To Spot a Phishing Scam

Questions & Answers

Questions must be on-topic, written with proper grammar usage, and understandable to a wide audience.

Question:

If you happen to follow all the demands from this phishing scammer, how do they come to win your money, because now I am dealing with this Alise Pena and I have already written the email to the bank? Is there any threat?

Answer:

If you've sent money, I wouldn't expect to get it back. Don't send any personal or sensitive information to random addresses, especially through e-mail. If you haven't sent anything personal, then just stop communication and you should be fine. Otherwise, you might want to file a complaint with the FTC (information found in article).

Comments

No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites.

sending

Rahul Rai

6 months ago

I'm also being fraud..but after reading your article I understand that it is such a scam .he ask me My idafter it she sent me 2forms through bank.after it she send me the answer to be filled out in the form.I did this and send the hard copy to the bank through DTDC but it not received by any body.after it she send me a mail through bank to contact to a a layer of the bank.for the documents for fund transfer.in the documents he is asking me to give him 1345 British pound by Western Union money transfer or money Gram.but I understood. thanks slot for sharing Thanks a lot❤️❤️

Isaac

7 months ago

Wow! I have received the same email and he's trying to convince me. wow this scammer is very intelligent!

Collins

8 months ago

I got the same email a few hours ago, i had read this post some time back...i think it may be a bot because i decided to copy paste the responses you gave exactly hoping they would remember you but i got the same exact answers but different pictures!

Dhanush

9 months ago

I just got this mail right now

Shyron E Shenko

11 months agofrom Texas

Luke, I thought of you when I got a scam phone call a few minutes ago. I told the call he should be ashamed of himself for trying to scam people out of their life savings and hurting other people. When I finished talking to him he hung up.

How are you today? i will like to be kind and faithful to you, i am a woman that have seen life, although it does not matter one's age, color or achievement, what matters in our life is your kindness to humanity

Dear, i believe that is the most important thing in life, I had been hardworking all my life, i must think of something better, to enjoy my life and probably have a family maybe relocate and start investing in other things, Anyway i will like to tell you more about me, My name is Miss Alisa Pena, am from Belgium, i was born in Belgium, And i left Belgium at Age of 13 Years to England, which to the glory of God Am working as an Senior Audit/banker in Al Rayan Bank Plc United Kingdom, is very painful i lost my only daughter at age of 5 years,

i was married but my Ex Husband got married to another woman, which caused our divorce, but is ok that is life for you, since he accused me of been so busy due to my bank work activities as accounting/auditing, that i was not having time for him and our kid before she passed away, but he refused to understand that i was pursing a goal, i told him that soon i will resign and we will have enough time for each other but he was impatient, although is over between us, I am happy alone because I have everything i need, This is why I think of relocating to another country to get into investment and maybe own a small company which i can be able to manage on my own, Please would you tell me more about yourself too? I like to know more about you for me to know if we can achieve this goal together, your marital status and your country of origin

I will be glad to hear from you soon

Yours Faithful Alisa

This is the mail i got today similar mail as posted above but with different picture though. They got my email id through linkedin. After doing some research i found this post and immediately registered the complaint.

AUTHOR

JourneyHolm

2 years ago

Shyron, 3-5 a day is a lot! I wonder if it was the same person? I wonder what percentage of dark side is moving toward scams of these sorts?

Shyron E Shenko

2 years agofrom Texas

Great hub Luke, I am glad you reported the scammer. I was getting e-mails similar to these at the rate of 3-5 a day, and did not bother to answer any of them. I was also getting phone calls from people about my computer having a virus and wanted access to my computer.

I am so happy when these scammers get their just deserts.

Blessings

AUTHOR

JourneyHolm

2 years ago

Jennifer, thank you for reading the article. I hope the memes made this topic a bit more manageable and enjoyable. I'm glad you didn't fall for the chain-mail scam. I don't know how these people live with themselves. My grandma just got duped the other day...this is a deplorable level of inhumanity.

AUTHOR

JourneyHolm

2 years ago

acelawrites, I'm very glad you didn't fall for his/her scam. I think this is a scam based out of Nigeria, which is crazy to think how anonymous the internet can really make someone. In your researching the letter, did you come across this article, or another one? Thanks for reading. I hope this has made your deceptive experience a bit more enjoyable :)

acelawrites

2 years ago

Thanks Luke.I received the same e-mail from alleged Alice Pena who befriended me through Literacybase.com, a blogsite. It was good I doubted, so I searched and found the same letter she sent to other people. She/He is a scammer. Good thing I researched first because what she told in the letter was too good to be true. Hope she'll find herself/himself in jail one day.

Jennifer Mugrage

2 years agofrom Columbus, Ohio

Great table, links, and memes.

Once someone sent me a chain e-mail about some little girl who was dying of cancer or something like that. One of the people who forwarded it had written, "Seriously, if you don't forward this, you've got no heart."

I wish I had replied, "And if you do, you've got no brain."

AUTHOR

JourneyHolm

2 years ago

Thank you, Sakina! I'm glad you enjoyed and learned from the hub. I felt getting scammed was an excellent opportunity to turn what could have been a dangerous situation into one that is profitable for all. Thank you for reading. Keep up the good work yourself :)

Sakina Nasir

2 years agofrom Kuwait

Great hub Luke! :) A very serious issue and you hsve explained the details so well. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Your hub is very useful. Keep writing such great hubs. :)

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